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Okay my arm has been twisted

I wish I had an over-inflated ego...then I would be smiling with false pride.

I kinda like this forum....I like the way it extends people, and I love seeing the personalities of people through their artworks.

There is no such thing as good or bad artwork....there is only artwork. An expression of all the senses, and in many cases in league with poetry. It opens a window into anothers soul, thus allowing everybody else the opportunity for the discovery of who, and where they are on this lonely rock. We can therefore see how each perceive through 'objective' and 'subjective' imagings.

I look at all work firstly for impact....my favourite pieces are the ones that walk across a room and introduce themselves to me, not the art that I have to search for amongst curtains, and wallpaper.

Secondly....I ask myself the question..."Now what the hell do we have here?"

Thirdly....I look for style, technique....does it all work as a whole? Where does it break down, and why? One should try and understand the work. The work must remain true to itself.
Now and again I find areas within a work so wrong for the rest of the piece, but those areas sometimes hold the true talent of the artist. Many times the artist is labouring under the illusion that their work must be of a certain type to gain recognition....how wrong that belief is. The artist would be better employed understanding and developing the so-called weakness, and building it to a strength, a statement...."this is me ...this is how I perceive". Digits with his teddy bear...the more I look at it the more I'm convinced that Digits has an undeniable talent....and if you will forgive me Digits...I shall continue...when Digits fully understands his talents and recognises that simplicity can stage his work to a higher degree the more fulfilled and rich Art will be. Anyway I digress.

I try to understand what the artist is trying to be....unfortunately too many think they should be realists....why? To many artists labour their work because of it, and eventually lose sight of any talent they may have once held......now that is a shame.

I'll cut this short......
Art to my mind should be spontaneous....slap the work together........then spend as many hours as necessary viewing the work....enjoying it, wonder at it, discover it......then you will see areas of brilliance, and areas of weakness. A question should naturally form.....How can I improve this work?

Hell I'm not the best artist out there...if we use those terms.....I have two friends, one who is superior to me when it comes to portraits, another who's landscapes are breath taking....

As for being a critic....there are far better more talented people than myself out there. However I have painted and drawn for twenty odd years......read a million artbooks, honed my skills....and by my reckoning I'm not half-bad.

Anyway.....should you wish a critique of your work email me.......I will be as honest as I am able.